Return Fire
by Shamash
Summary: A captain in the Imperial Guard is found guilty of incompetence in battle, can he cope with the magnitude of his failure? Or fall into the depths of insanity? Or make a planet-shattering discovery? Please R
1. Forever Cursed

Col's eyes darted nervously around the Judicial Chamber, odd for a Deralian of his stature. He had known his crime all too well, incompetence in battle is too costly, especially against Tau. "Captain Col Bravinius, you stand trial for incompetence in the Battle of Isan Corridor leading to the decimation of the Deralian 5th Regiment, 3rd Company, 95 Casualties. We take into consideration your esteemed service record and the court and myself have decided that your punishment shall be…" The judge hesitated. Col noticed a drop of sweat going down his forehead and resting on his messy eyebrows. Col was tall for a human, 6'6" with striking blue eyes and neatly cropped brown hair, with a thick, muscular chest. The judge licked his thin red lips and smiled, only one word left his mouth.  
"Banishment" "What!" Col exclaimed. "You…You can't! This punishment does not fit the-" He was cut off with a wave of the hand by the judge "Where in our constitution does it say that the punishment has to fit the crime? We cannot afford to have Tau butchering entire companies!" shouted the judge "Now…your punishment shall begin immediately, first, your marriage is officially annulled, your property is confiscated and your citizenship as well as rank, title, and offices you hold." Col winced at every calculated strike the judge made at him. He had no problem losing his ranks and titles, but taking away the most precious thing he loved, the thing that he would KILL for… that was another story. He walked out of the court being escorted by two Deralian Marines, he caught a glimpse of his sister, she was married to his best friend Arno Marne. Arno fought with Col at the Battle of Isan Valley where he was killed. He couldn't look into her eyes, it was too much, he couldn't bear it. Col walked onto the Punishment Platform, where all who had committed crimes before the Almighty Emperor were punished. A large voice boomed out in a Macrophone "Behold! Col Bravinius is found guilty of incompetence! He shall now be stripped of his sacred uniform which he now defiles by wearing it!" Shouted the macrophone with an air of hatred in his voice. The crowd began chanting "Kill Him, Kill him, Kill him" The marines stepped forward and began to strip off his medals, his rank, and his dignity. He put on his tunic and was escorted out to an exit on a crowded street where people began cursing and yelling and throwing rotten vegetables at him, trying his best to keep a look of dignity. At last they reached the gates of Jeru (Deralia's capital city), the gates opened without a sound and was pushed out with nothing but the tunic he was wearing. Col walked deep into the woods never looking back at the city that abandoned him. 


	2. Nightmares

He had been wandering, for how long? Days? Weeks? No… only hours, he could still see the spires of the Chancellery over the horizon. Col's mind raced to catch up with everything that had transpired. The bigger question his mind posed was "Now what?" He had no survival equipment, no gun, no knife, all he had were his wits. Dusk was quickly approaching and he was less than 5 miles outside of the city walls, so he collected some wood and started a fire near an old, tall tree that had what seemed to be a perfect hole in the side of it for a shelter. Night fell and by then a nice fire had been going, Col stirred the fire with a look of lifelessness in his face, not a face of a man of war, but a face of a man without hope, a man that had nothing to live for. Col soon went to sleep, and thoughts came, thoughts of events past, things he had not seen since he was but a child. He dreamed….  
Col was but 12 at this time, learning at the Deralian Military Academy.  
"Order Up, Rank and file you scum-sucking maggots!" yelled the Sergeant. "Recruit Trainee Bravinius, what in the name of Solar Fethin' Macharius do you call that rifle?" "Sir, I call it clean, Sir!" replied Col with zeal. The sergeant smiled "Damn right it is, you sons of Orks, listen up, you better learn how to clean your rifles. If your rifle aren't as good as this by tomorrow you WILL be cleanin' the privies." ordered the sergeant in a most commanding tone. This image started to fade in and out until the fog of sleep consumed him and a new image began to appear. Col was 20 and he was in a bar in Jeru with his friend Arno. Arno turned to Col and said "So man, we are shippin' out tomorrow" "Can't believe it me self, my first battlefield command" replied Col "You mean OUR first command" interjected Arno with a bit of glee Col laughed heartily "Yeah, your right, hey man, its our last night on Deralia before we go to fight the Tau, c'mon, lets have a toast!" "We are gonna fight!" yelled Arno "And we're gonna WIN!" chorused the guardsmen in the bar.  
This image too began to fade and was replaced with an image that Col hated. Col was on a battlefield, one that was familiar, too familiar, he could still smell the fresh damp, grass of his homeworld. His staff were hiding behind an abandoned stone house that acted as command post. Col was 35 now, and a captain, he stood non-chalantly amidst the fire of the Vanquisher cannon pouring shot after shot into a Tau hammerhead. "Sir, Lieutenant Froan is reporting 75 casualties and we still have no word as too.." he was cut off by incoming smart missles that hit right next to Col incinerating the runner instantly. Col was shaken slightly and yelled into his Arno's master vox "Get Sec Platoon into position, get covering fire on those broadsides!" But it was too late, another round smart missiles was incoming, Col turned to look but could not react in time. A cacophony of explosions hit the surrounding area and the smoke cleared. "Is anyone injured?" Col shouted. For a minute he thought he was deaf until he turned and saw his entire staff dead on the ground except for Arno, who was barely alive. Col rushed to Arno "Arno, you.. you.. Are you ok?" said Col with utmost concern. "I'm… I don't know." Col looked down and saw the bloody stump where Arno's lower body was. "Arno, Arno, please, in the name of the Emperor, please, don't die, please" Col started crying "You can't, I won't allow it!" It was too late, Arno lie dead. Col unsheathed his sword and charged down the field, his infantry in his pursuit. It was a turkey shoot, the infantry were shot running down the field except for 20 led by Col. He immediately jumped and thrust his powersword deep into a Firewarrior's chest, the blood spattering on his field dress. He enjoyed the kill, for every Tau that died, he would feel more avenged. A single battle suit came jumped 10 meters in front of him. He wanted him. Col emptied his clip into 7 Firewarriors knocking them off their feet, dead before they hit the ground. Col shoved his power sword into the right leg of the battle suit. It swung its arm and nearly clipped his head off if he hadn't moved. Col took out his sword and began to cut open the battle suit to reveal the startled Shas'O inside, Col then promptly impaled the Shas'O who had a look of genuine surprise as he died. He jumped of the battle suit and skewered 2 more Tau as he landed. Col was very pleased with himself until he felt a hot blast to back and the last thing he remembered was hitting the ground. 


End file.
